The Nokia Lumia 920 is set to be Nokia's next flagship handset, taking the reins from the Nokia Lumia 900. The Finnish firm has been through some tough times recently with its own Symbian OS failing to deliver. Even partnering with Microsoft to become the face of Windows Phone hasn't proven to be an enormously successful endeavour, as the platform has struggled to compete with iOS and Android.
Now Microsoft is launching the much-anticipated Windows Phone 8, a complete overhaul of their operating system that brings with it a lot more flexibility for homescreen tiles and sizing, proper multi-tasking, support for more powerful hardware and a bunch of other features.
It's this that will power the Nokia Lumia 920, giving consumers their first taste of the new OS. So there's a lot riding on the new Lumia; Nokia and Microsoft both need it to be a hit.
Nokia Lumia 920: Design
At first glance it doesn't look a whole lot different than its little brother the Nokia Lumia 900. They're both quite angular, both coated in polycarbonate and both come in a blinding array of colours (grey, yellow, red, white and black in the case of the Lumia 920).
Look closer though and you'll see that the Nokia Lumia 920 has an ever so slightly bigger display at 4.5-inches compared to 4.3-inches on the Nokia Lumia 900.
Nokia Lumia 920: Specs
It's got a bountiful 32GB of internal storage space and takes Windows Phone into dual-core territory with a 1.5GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor.
Nokia still apparently doesn't see the need for quad-core, but thanks to the upgrades made by Windows Phone 8 dual-core has now become necessary to handle the extra apps on board.
We're also treated to 1GB of RAM to help power things along, which is a welcome addition the party.
Nokia Lumia 920: PureView
The headline feature of the Nokia Lumia 920 is undoubtedly the 'PureView' technology powering the camera. That might bring to mind the recent Nokia 808 PureView with its gargantuan 41MP lens, in which case you'll be slightly underwhelmed to hear that the Nokia Lumia 920's lens is a fairly standard 8.7 megapixels.
But worry not, because under the hood there's a whole lot going on to earn it the name. Using 'floating lens technology', it can compensate for shaky hands, plus it can capture up to ten times more light than other smartphone cameras, which should lead to brighter, blur free images. It's a Carl Zeiss lens too, which means cleaner and sharper images.
There's also a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, capable of recording 720p video, making it a good fit for Skype and the like.
Nokia Lumia 920: Puremotion HD+
Going back to the screen, the size isn't the most exciting thing about the 1280x768 curved-glass WXGA display. No, that honour is reserved for the tech driving it. Going by the name 'PureMotion HD+', it actually covers a handful of different things that in theory should provide an enviable display, with Nokia making the bold claim that it provides a better than HD experience.
It's 25% brighter than the next brightest smartphone display on the market. It can detect how much light is hitting the screen and automatically adjust the colours in direct sunlight so that you can still see the display.
It can also supposedly both render objects and refresh the screen faster than other smartphones, resulting in a smoother, blur free image when watching video, playing games or just operating the phone.
That covers the 'PureMotion' part of the name. The 'HD+' part (and Nokia's associated claim that the display is better than HD), actually refers to the aspect ratio of the handset, which is 15:9 rather than the HD standard of 16:9 and is a better fit for the phone.
Nokia Lumia 920: super sensitive touchscreen
The display is also 'super sensitive' to the touch, allowing you to interact with the Nokia Lumia 920 using gloves or long finger nails. Its sensitivity adapts depending on what you're using on it, which should allow for more accurate and flexible use.
Incidentally it has a pixel density of 332ppi, beating the retina-display toting iPhone 4S's 326ppi.
Nokia Lumia 920: Apps
Nokia is seeking to get some differentiation from the rest of the smartphone pack by chucking a glut of apps on the Lumia 920. For instance there's 'City Lens', a new augmented reality feature that displays information such as restaurant names and other points of interest when you point the phone at them. We've seen things like this before on other devices, but with Nokia and Microsoft backing it it's one to watch.
More impressively City Lens is integrated with Nokia Maps, meaning that if you bring up directions on the map and then hold your phone up to the street, the directions will show up in front of you. It remains to be seen whether that's any more useful than seeing them on a map (you're certainly more likely to trip over things!), but it's definitely pretty nifty.
Nokia Drive is integrated with the mapping software too and you can save maps for offline viewing. Nokia Maps is further boosted by Nokia Transport which displays public transport information, including multiple routes and times for buses and trains.
Nokia Lumia 920: NFC and battery
The Nokia Lumia 920 also includes an NFC chip and wireless charging technology. In practice that means putting it on a 'charging pad,' a device which you may never have seen but may one day soon become a common staple of coffee shops and bars, making it easy to charge on the go.
Right now these pads have been announced for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and for the London Heathrow Virgin Atlantic lounge, but there's bound to be more coming, right? (hint: Nokia has confirmed there are).
There's a bunch of other things to get excited about too with the Nokia Lumia 920. It's packing an enormous 2000mAh battery, which Nokia reckon gives it '30 per cent' more juice than its quad core competitors.
It's not all good news though, as the Nokia Lumia 920 doesn't have a microSD card slot. That's perhaps not such a big deal given the generous 32GB of internal storage, but for a flagship handset and one with so much riding on it it's still a tad disappointing.
Source : techradar[dot]com
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